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Where Is Everybody?
"Where is Everybody?" is the first episode of the The Twilight Zone. From the CBS Video Library cover: "Mike Ferris (Earl Holliman) finds himeslf walking into a town utterly devoid of people, with no memory of who he is or how he got there, the only clue to his identity being the Air Force jumpsuit he's wearing. Thus began the first episode of The Twilight Zone, the pilot, the half-hour that sold the series."CBS Video Library: Twilight Zone #0323 "Where is Everybody?/Perchance to Dream/The Jungle/Nick of Time" ; UPC: 003230803991, EAN: 0003230803991, ASIN: B000BUHEZ8; Format: NTSC, VHS, Collector's Edition (1987) Episode Details Title Sequence The opening featured the sun/horizon animation. When the episode's narrative for the title sequence was originally recorded, it was worded as follows: "There is a sixth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the sunlight of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area that might be called the Twilight Zone."CrazyAboutTv.com: The Twilight Zone TV Show (1959) Retrieved on: 2009-04-13 When a second intoduction was recorded, the lines were changed thusly: "There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call the Twilight Zone."CBS Video Library: Twilight Zone #0323 "Where is Everybody?/Perchance to Dream/The Jungle/Nick of Time" ; UPC: 003230803991, EAN: 0003230803991, ASIN: B000BUHEZ8; Format: NTSC, VHS, Collector's Edition (1987) Producer William Self elaborated on this revision for the CBS Video Library release: "The opening line read, 'There is a sixth dimension...' Self: 'I said, "Rod, what is the fifth one?" He said, "I don't know. Aren't there five?" I said, "I can only think of four." So we rewrote and rerecorded it and said, "There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man...'"CBS Video Library: Twilight Zone #0323 "Where is Everybody?/Perchance to Dream/The Jungle/Nick of Time" ; UPC: 003230803991, EAN: 0003230803991, ASIN: B000BUHEZ8; Format: NTSC, VHS, Collector's Edition (1987) An alternate draft of the title narrative was also prepared: "The barrier of loneliness: the palpable, desperate need of the human animal to be with his fellow man. Up there, up there in the vastness of space, in the void that is sky, up there is an enemy known as isolation. It sits there in the stars waiting, waiting with the patience of eons, forever waiting... in the Twilight Zone."Wikipedia: Where Is Everybody? Opening Narration "The place is here, the time is now, and the journey into the shadows that we're about to watch could be our journey." Episode Summary Mike Ferris, a man in an Air Force jumpsuit, is all alone in a strange town. He searches all over town trying to find someone. He finally collapses, pushing the "walk button" at a stoplight. The "walk" button is actually a panic button, and Ferris is an astronaut-trainee in an isolation booth. He has been in the booth for 484 hours, and has been hallucinating the whole town. Closing Narration "Up there, up there in the vastness of space, in the void that is sky, up there is an enemy known as isolation. It sits there in the stars waiting, waiting with the patience of eons, forever waiting... in the Twilight Zone." Preview for Next Week's Story "Next week, I'll have a reunion with a unique talent and a valued friend, our first since Requiem for a Heavyweight. Next week on The Twilight Zone, Mr. Ed Wynn stars in "One for the Angels," playing an old pitchman who sells mechanical toys like this, but whose competition is Mr. Death. We hope you'll join us then. Thank you and good night." Themes The main theme in this episode, as the title suggests, is the difference between aloneness and loneliness and its effect on humans. The commanding officer in the final scene sums this up, observing, "The barrier of loneliness — that's the one thing we haven't licked yet." As with the subject of age, isolation would be a theme often revisited by Serling in various episodes throughout the series, most prominently Season 2's The Mind and the Matter, in which a man finds he can eliminate outside influences and uses the power to rid himself of all humanity, only to realize the extreme loneliness that comes with deprivation of human interaction. Other notable episodes with the theme include Season 1's The Lonely and Time Enough at Last, Season 3's Nothing in the Dark, and Season 5's A Kind of Stopwatch. As part of the Sci Fi Channel's participation in Cable in the Classroom, "Where is Everybody?" may be recorded and retained indefinitely for educational exhibition. A suggested lesson plan expands on the concept of aloneness vs. loneliness by shifting the focus to "using a gift for personal gain or for the benefit of others" and how students might help those who are most affected by isolation and the effects of social deprivation.Blass, Laurie and Elder, Pam. "LESSON PLAN". Twilight Zone: Cable in the Classroom; Retrieved 2009-04-16. Critical Response The pilot episode began a trend for The Twilight Zone of critical success accompanied by adequate, if not phenomenal, ratings. A New York Times review of the episode on October 3, 1959 stated: "Mr. Serling conceived his playlet in imaginative terms and underscored his point that science cannot foretell what may be the effect of total isolation on a human being. Indeed, the play's situation was almost bound to be better than its resolution, which by comparison seemed trite and anticlimactic. In the desultory field of filmed half-hour drama, however, Mr. Serling should not have much trouble in making his mark. At least his series promises to be different."Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition) Later that year, in the December issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-Fiction, Charles Beaumont wrote: "...I read Serling's first script. It was, or seemed to be, an end-of-the-world story. Resisting the impulse to throw the wretched thing across the room, I read on. A man is alone in a town which shows every sign of having been recently occupied. He finds cigarettes burning in ash trays. Stoves are still warm. Chimneys are smoking. But no one is there, only this one frightened man who can't even remember his name...Old stuff? Of course. I thought so at the time, and I think so now. But there was one element in the story which kept me from my customary bitterness. The element was quality. Quality shone on every page. It shone in the dialogue and in the scene set-ups. And because of this, the story seemed fresh and new and powerful. There was one compromise, but it was made for the purpose of selling the series."Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition) Background Information Cast *Rod Serling (Narrator (voice); undredited) *Earl Holliman (Mike Ferris) *James Gregory (Air Force general) *Paul Langton (doctor) *Jay Overholts (reporter two; credited: Jay Overholt) *Garry Walberg (reporter three; credited: Gary Walberg) *Carter Mullaly (Air Force captain; credited: Carter Mullaly) *Jim Johnson (Air Force staff sergeant) *John Conwell (Air Force colonel) *James McCallion (reporter one) Crew *Rod Serling (executive producer: Cayuga Productions) *William Self (producer) *Buck Houghton (producer) *Joseph LaShelle (director of photography) *Roland Gross (film editor) *Robert Clatworthy (art director) *Alexander Golitzen (art director; credited: Alex Golitzen) *Russell A. Gausman (set decorator) *Ruby R. Levitt (set decorator; credited: Ruby Levitt) *Bud Westmore (makeup artist) *Joseph E. Kenney (assistant director; credited: Joseph E. Kenny) *Leslie I. Carey (sound) *Vernon W. Kramer (sound *Van Allen James (sound effects editor; uncredited) *Bernard Herrmann (conductor; uncredited) Production Companies *Cayuga Productions *Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Distributors *Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1959) (USA) (TV) (original airing) *Paris Corporation (2008) (France) (DVD)IMDB: "The Twilight Zone" Where Is Everybody? (1959) Trivia *Rod Serling was not originally intended to be the narrator for the episode (or the series). Instead, announcer Westbrook Van Voorhis was slated for the job. When it became known that he would be unavailable for future episodes of the series, Mr. Serling opted to record the narration himself and would continue to do so for the sake of consistency.IMDB: "The Twilight Zone" Where Is Everybody? (1959) **An alternate explanation for the replacement of Van Hoorhis was given in the CBS Video Library summary: "Westbrook Van Hoorhis, the voice of The March of Time, narrated the pilot, but it was decided that he was a little too pompous-sounding. Orson Welles was a favored choice, but wanted too much money. 'Finally,' says William Self, the producer of this episode, 'Rod himself made the suggestion that maybe he should do it. It was received with skepticism. None of us knew Rod except as a writer. But he did a terrific job."CBS Video Library: Twilight Zone #0323 "Where is Everybody?/Perchance to Dream/The Jungle/Nick of Time" ; UPC: 003230803991, EAN: 0003230803991, ASIN: B000BUHEZ8; Format: NTSC, VHS, Collector's Edition (1987) * Mr. Serling revealed how he developed the idea: "This particular show I got from a Time magazine article that they were putting guys in isolation booths in preparation for ectra-terrestrial travel."CBS Video Library: Twilight Zone #0323 "Where is Everybody?/Perchance to Dream/The Jungle/Nick of Time" ; UPC: 003230803991, EAN: 0003230803991, ASIN: B000BUHEZ8; Format: NTSC, VHS, Collector's Edition (1987) *Rod Serling later adapted this tale to be included in a short-story anthology Stories From the Twilight Zone (1960, ASIN: B0000CKNSMFantastic Fiction: Stories From the Twilight Zone by Rod Sterling), although he changed the ending. In the revised version, Mike Ferris, after being carried away on a stretcher, discovers a movie ticket in his pocket from the theater he visited while suffering the supposed hallucination. This was an attempt to give the story a more definite sci-fi/fantasy twist.IMDB: "The Twilight Zone" Where Is Everybody? (1959) **A variation of this twist ending was later used in Season 2's King Nine Will Not Return. **Other episodes that lack a strong supernatural or science fiction theme include Season 2's The Silence, Season 3's The Shelter and Two, and Season 5's The Jeopardy Room. ***It should be noted, however, that this episode aired two years before Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first to achieve human spaceflight, orbiting the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. Although the first animal in orbit was the dog Laika, launched aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft on November 3, 1957, the consequences of manned spaceflight remained uncertain until Gagarin's launch.Wikipedia: Human Spaceflight ***Space travel has long been a theme in science fiction; some of the best known examples being French philosopher Voltaire's Micromegas (1752), French author Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865), and British writer H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon (1901).History of Space Exploration: Early Developments; Retrieved 2009-04-15 *Although this was the first episode of The Twilight Zone to be aired, Rod Serling had written another proposal for the pilot, titled The Happy Place. The plot centered on a society that executed its citizens when they reached the age of 60 because of their perceived obsolescence (a theme that would pop up again in other works of science fictions such as Logan's Run). The network rejected the story because of its dark subject matter. IMDB: "The Twilight Zone" Where Is Everybody? (1959) **The idea of being regarded as obselete by one's society would later be explored in Season 2's The Obselete Man. A similar theme, though far less sinister, is apparent in Season 3's The Trade-Ins. *With the exception of Season 5's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, this was the only Twilight Zone episode not to be filmed at MGM Studios.IMDB: "The Twilight Zone" Where Is Everybody? (1959) *This episode was the first pilot produced by William Self.Wikipedia: William Self (actor); Retrieved 2009-04-15 *The haunting score composed by Bernard Herrman for this episode would be reused for several episodes of the series, most notably Season 1's The After Hours.Wikipedia: Where Is Everybody? Cast Connections *Jay Overholts appeared in a total of eight episodes of The Twilight Zone, the others being Season 1's One for the Angels, Season 2's A Thing About Machines, Twenty Two, The Odyssey of Flight 33, and Static, and Season 3's The Jungle and Showdown with Rose McGrew. *John Conwell appeared in The After Hours later in the season. He also worked as assistant to the producer during Season 4. *James Gregory also appeared in Season 3's The Passerby. *Paul Langton also appeared in Season 4's On Thursday We Leave for Home. Memorable Quotes *Mike Ferris: "I just remembered something. Scrooge said it. Remember Scrooge, old buddy? Ebenezer Scrooge? That's what he said to the ghost, Jacob Marley. He said, "You may be an undigested bit of beef, a crumb of cheese, a blot of mustard, a fragment of an undone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you..." See, that's what you are. You're what I had for dinner last night. You must be. But now I've had it. I'd like to wake up. I'd like to wake up now." *Mike Ferris: "Air Force. I'm Air Force. Air Force. I'm in the Air Force. I'm in the Air Force! Air Force! Hey, I'm in the Air Force! I'm in the Air Force! Hey, everybody, I'm in the Air Force! Air Force... Air Force, what does that mean?" *Doctor: "You see, we can feed the stomach with concentrates. We can supply microfilm for reading, recreation, even movies of a sort. We can pump oxygen in and waste material out. But there's one thing we can't simulate that's a very basic need. Man's hunger for companionship. The barrier of loneliness, that's one thing we haven't licked yet." Notes and References *DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360 *Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090 External Links *Where Is Everybody? at the Internet Movie Database *Wikipedia: List of The Twilight Zone Episodes *Wikipedia: Where Is Everybody? *View Episode at CBS.com Category:Episodes Category:1959-1960 Season Category:First Series Episodes Category:TV Series